1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a winch and particularly a winch adapted to be mounted to an automobile.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Winches are quite commonly mounted to an automotive vehicle to perform a variety of functions, such as dragging an object while the vehicle is stationary, or actually moving the vehicle itself by attaching the free end of the winch cable to a stationary object and reeling in the cable to pull the vehicle toward that object. The winch generally has its cable winding drum mounted between two end support structures which in turn are fixedly mounted to a mounting bracket at the front bumper location of the vehicle.
While the bumper bracket to which the winch is mounted is generally a strong rugged structural member, under high impact forces or severe loading on the winch cable, it is possible for the bumper bracket to become distorted or misaligned in the area of the two winch support structures. In prior art winches, when this distortion or misalignment causes a corresponding misalignment of one or both of the housing structures with respect to the drum, there is quite often a binding or misalignment of the drive components of the winch which impairs operation of the winch. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improvement for a winch such as that described above, to compensate for misalignment or distortion of the bumper bracket or other base support structure to which the winch is mounted.